Improvement in gates



J. M. PIERCE.

' Automat ic' Gate.

Patented April 28, 1863.

w m W u. PETERS. Pme-Limmen, washingvm 1cA UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.,

JAMES M. PEIEoE, or MoKENA,ILLINoIs.

IMPROVEMENT IN GATES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,331, dated April 28, 1863.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMEs M. PEIEcE, of Mokena, in the county of Will and. State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hanging Gates, Doors, &c. and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side view of my invention 5 Fig. 2, an end view ot' the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a gate, which may be constructed in any proper manner, the only peculiarities itpossesses being in its end uprights, a a, which are slotted vertically at their upper ends to receive rollers, B, or are formed of two parts with the boards b of the gate bolted' between them.

C represents a rail which passes through the upper parts ot' the uprights a of the gate and underneath the rollers B B, the latter resting on the rail C, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. The rail C is secured at one end in the upper part of a post, D, by a pin, b. This post D may be slotted vertically at its upper end to receive the end of the rail C, or it may be formed of two parts connected at their upper ends by a cross-piece or cap, c. The opposite end of the rail C is tted in a post, E, also slotted vertically at its upper end to receive the rail, or it may be formed of two parts, d d, with a suitable space between them, connected at their upper ends by a cross-piece or cap, e. The latter would probably be the preferable mode of construction. Each part dof the post is provided with a shoulder, f, to serve as a support for the rail C, when the latter is elevated, and a pin, g, passes transversely through the post E to support' the rail when the latter is lowered or inclined downward at its free or disengaged end, which is the end that works in the post E. To this free or disengaged end of the rail G there are attached two cords or chains, k h, which pass over the pulleys i i, at the tops of the parts d d of the post E, and which have their axes e in the cross-piece e. The cords or chains h h extend along the cross-piece e and pass down over rollers f f', in the ends of the cross-piece, each cord or chain having a weight, g', attached to its lower end. rIhe ends of these chains are designed to be at such a height and at such a distance from the post E that they may be readily grasped by a person from a carriage or on horseback, and the free or disengaged end of the rail G elevated to admit of the gate A rolling down the rail to the post D and afford an open space for the carriage or vehicle to pass through, as shown in red in Fig. 1. The free or disengaged end of the rail o is retained in an elevated state by the shoulder f on the part d of the post nearest the operator. After the vehicle has passed through the space the end of the other chain his pulled and the free or disengaged end ofthe railCis drawn-off from the shoulder f, on which it rested, and is allowed to descend or drop on the pin g, and the rail is then inclined downward from post D to post E, and the gate closes b'y its own gravity. The gate A, it will be seen, may be thus operated from either side. If desired, one roller, B, may be placed centrally on the upper part of the gate to work on the rail C. In this case the gate would work in a horizontal position.

I do not confine myself to the application of the cords or chains h for operating or adjusting the rail C, for levers may be used for the purpose and answer equally as well.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

'lhe combination of the rising and falling gate-carrier or rail C, with the shoulders f, gate B, and cords h, in the manner herein shown and described, so that by pulling one of said cords the gate will be opened and fastened open, and by pulling the opposite cord the gate will be removed from the shoulder f, and caused to close by its own gravity, all as set forth.

JAMES M. PEI'EGE.

Witnesses:

J AMES DUCKEE, WILLIAM DUGEER. 

